


picture perfect

by ColorMeParanoid



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Boys In Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 10:15:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16700566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorMeParanoid/pseuds/ColorMeParanoid
Summary: “You’re pathetic,” Izzy said, and if her plan was to insult him, it failed due to the amused smile she couldn’t quite manage to hide.Alec rolled his eyes, but locked his phone and put it back on his desk. He’d been distracted by Magnus’ promise all day, constantly checking for messages, but none came. Alec was a professional tactician, with a job like his he had to be, but when it came to a certain warlock, patience wasn’t his strong suit.





	picture perfect

“Magnus, can I- can I ask you something?”

Alec regretted the question as soon as he said it. Magnus had been called away to the Spiral Labyrinth for something work related he claimed was boring, but Alec knew was incredibly important and he’d missed his boyfriend's presence more than he thought he would. The phone connection was fickle at best, and since both of them were so busy with their respective jobs, actually meeting face to face was out of the question for the time being.

It’s been two long weeks, and it would take two more before Magnus was finally free to come home to him. Alec was already mentally calculating the amounts of paperwork he would have to get ahead of if he wanted to take a few days off to make up for the lost time. Then he concluded that any amount would be worth it in the end, so did it really matter?

By the end of week one, he’d already exhausted all of the possible distractions (and his siblings) to the point where he was seriously considering going out to a club just to pass the time more quickly. All of this waiting around was torture of the worst kind.

Yes, he was aware that he was being extremely sappy and that all the brooding in the world wouldn’t make the time move quicker, but hearing Magnus’ voice and not being able to see him only got worse when he realized that he barely had any pictures of Magnus at all. There was, of course, a strip of pictures from their date in Tokyo Alec kept framed on the desk in his office, but he wanted more. Something portable he could have on his phone that wouldn’t have to worry about damaging or losing.

All he wanted was one simple picture he could look at whenever he started missing Magnus’ smiling face too much for comfort.

“What is it, darling?” Magnus’ sleepy voice said from the other line, and Alec was instantly flooded by guilt for calling him, even if Magnus repeatedly assured him that his calls were more than welcome. It was still very early in the morning, and knowing his boyfriend’s bad sleeping habits, it was safe to assume that Magnus had barely slept the night before. Alec couldn’t blame him much since he had trouble sleeping without Magnus by his side, as well – they have become ridiculously codependent – but being a Shadowhunter, he was more used to running on miniscule amounts of sleep than Magnus “not a morning person” Bane.  
  
“Actually, never mind,” Alec said. His stupid question could wait until a later date. “You should get some sleep.”  
  
“What? No!” Magnus exclaimed, sounding more awake than moments before. “You know how much I hate it when you do that to me.”  
  
“It’s nothing important, I promise,” Alec tried his best to assure the warlock. It didn’t work.  
  
“Alexander!” Magnus protested, and Alec could hear shuffling coming from the other line, meaning Magnus has decided to forgo his bed and focus entirely on the conversation at hand. “You should know by now that everything you have to say is important to me. Now spill.”  
  
Alec started fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater. “It’s stupid.”  
  
Magnus groaned. “You’re killing me.”  
  
“And how exactly am I doing that?”  
  
“You know that saying, curiosity killed the cat?” Magnus said. “You should because you’re the one constantly comparing me to one. And the curiosity is currently killing me! Surely, you don’t want to kill your sexy and amazing boyfriend do you, Alexander?”  
  
“No, I don’t.” Alec played along, amused at his boyfriend's dramatics.  
  
“Then tell me.”  
  
Alec sighed, a slight blush tainting his cheeks as he blurted out a barely coherent, _“I want a picture of you.”_  
  
“What was that, darling?” Magnus asked, and Alec rolled his eyes, fully aware that Magnus heard him loud and clear. He just loved making Alec all embarrassed, which was turning into a horrible hobby of his.  
  
“I was wondering if you could…” Alec started, pausing to take a deep breath.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“…send me a picture of yourself?” Alec finished quickly, biting his lip in anticipation. But when he was met only with silence, he started panicking. “Or maybe not. I told you it was stupid. Can we just forget this conversation ever happened?”  
  
“Not a chance,” Magnus said, and now it was Alec’s turn to groan.  
  
Alec glanced at the clock. “Well, I really have to go now, so can we save the whole making fun of me thing for later?”  
  
Magnus chuckled. “Of course. And darling?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Keep an eye on your phone today,” Magnus teased, voice hushed like he was sharing a secret. “I have it on good authority that you will be receiving a very special picture later today at a, you know, more _reasonable_ hour.”  
  
Alec rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his lips. “I’ll be waiting. Now go to bed.”  
  
“Yes, sir.” Alec heard the sound of fabric rustling followed by a loud yawn. “Talk to you tonight?”  
  
“Of course. Sweet dreams.”  
  
“Mhm,” was Magnus’ sleepy response.

Alec shook his head fondly and then made his way to his office, feeling lighter than he had for days now that he had something to look forward to.  

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

 

 “You’re _pathetic_ ,” Izzy said, and if her plan was to insult him, it failed due to the amused smile she couldn’t quite manage to hide.

Alec rolled his eyes, but locked his phone and put it back on his desk. He’d been distracted by Magnus’ promise all day, constantly checking for messages, but none came. Alec was a professional tactician, with a job like his he had to be, but when it came to a certain warlock, patience wasn’t his strong suit.

His phone buzzed, indicating a new message and he lasted for a whole of three seconds before he reached for it, his pride be damned. It was a text from Underhill, reminding him about the mission debrief he had in five minutes.

“Pathetic,” Izzy repeated with a shake of her head.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be? There must be someone else to mock around here,” Alec said, clearing his desk from the clutter he’d been too distracted to deal with earlier today. “Literally, anyone else.”

“But you make it so damn easy, big brother,” she told him with a smirk. “What are you waiting for anyway?”

“That,” he told her, doing his best to sound stern. “Is none of your business.”

Which is why, of course, she lunged for the phone the moment it buzzed again, and to Alec’s horror, she was quicker. She twirled it between her fingers, expertly avoiding Alec’s attempt to grab it from her hands. He forced himself to stay calm and crossed his arms over his chest. She might have had his phone, but she didn’t know his password. “Go right ahead.”

Izzy narrowed her eyes, looking at his locked screen and then carefully typing in something with her manicured fingers. Her first attempt was a fail, and Alec shot her a grin which earned him a glare in return. She tapped on the screen a few times and – seriously, why did Alec think he could ever win this game – the phone unlocked.

With a victorious grin, she opened the message and Alec lunged at her again, only managing to catch her this time because she froze in the spot, staring at his screen visibly shocked. Alec didn’t get a chance to ask her what’s wrong because a second later, she slapped a hand over her eyes and thrust the phone in his direction.  
  
“I’m just going to,” she cleared her throat and pointed vaguely in the direction of the door. “…leave. Yes. Leaving is what I’ll be doing.” She nodded to herself as made her way out. She turned to him before she left, never quite meeting his eyes. “I’ll tell Underhill to postpone the briefing.”

Alec frowned. “Why? Izzy-“

He called after her, but she ignored him as she practically ran down the hallway, leaving only the sound of the door slamming in her wake.

“This wasn’t ominous at all,” Alec muttered to himself as he sat back down into his office chair and thank the Angel for that because the moment he saw the picture Magnus had sent him, his knees gave out.

Alec didn’t know what he was expecting. Maybe a selfie with one of those cute cat filters Magnus liked to post on his social media accounts. But it certainly wasn’t _this_.

_This_ being a very explicit picture of his boyfriend.

At first, Alec felt horribly betrayed that Magnus failed to disclose that he owned that particular type of lingerie. But he’d been appeased when he realized that maybe this pair was acquired specifically for this picture. Either way, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on it. But even though he wasn’t completely naked, the mesh boxers he was wearing didn’t do much to hide his obvious arousal.

By the Angel, his boyfriend was beyond gorgeous.

He only understood his sister’s reaction once he saw the look on Magnus’ face, the familiar sultry expression that never failed to get him going. What really did him in was the hungry look in his eyes, brown so dark it was almost black in the dim lighting of the room. It was incredibly intimate, and Alec relished in the fact that it was taken with only him in mind.

But, while Alec was grateful for the picture (and he planned on appreciating it the way it deserved to be later on), it wasn’t what he really had in mind.

Before he knew it, he’d already dialed Magnus’ number.

“If this is a request for phone sex,” Magnus said in the form of a greeting. “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

“Why’s that?”

“I might have gotten a bit too excited during my little photoshoot,” he explained sheepishly.

“Wait, there’s more than one?”

Magnus scoffed as if Alec’s low expectations have somehow personally offended him. “Of course there’s more. I was going to send you the rest tonight. The first one was only a small preview. A teaser, so to speak.” 

If that was a teaser, Alec didn't know how he was supposed to survive the rest. “Uh…thank you?”

Magnus chuckled warmly. “So, I take that you liked it?”

“It definitely worked as intended,” Alec said slowly. Maybe even too well if the sudden tightness of his pants was any indication. “Though, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

Magnus was silent for a long moment. “I’m sorry? You were so shy when you asked for it so I just assumed-”

“No apologies needed,” Alec quickly assured him. “It’s- it’s a great picture. I love it, trust me. It’s just… I was hoping for something a bit more candid? I noticed that I don’t have a lot of pictures of you on my phone and I wanted to change that.”

“Oh,” Magnus breathed out. “Give me a minute?”

“Okay,” Alec said and did his best to compose himself once they both hung up. Soon enough, he got another picture and this one was as stunning as the first, if not more.

Magnus was curled up on the couch, and he must have just gotten out of the shower because his face was free of makeup and his hair was soft and loose, stands of it falling across his forehead. In the privacy of his room, his golden eyes were without glamour, his smile shy, and there was just a hint of a flush high on his cheeks to complete the look. It was Magnus with all of his defenses down, and while it wasn’t the first time Alec saw him in this vulnerable state, it still took his breath away.

And to think that only a few months ago, he’d been all alone, wondering if Izzy was wrong when she’d told him that someday, someone would love him, heart and soul.

He’d never been so happy to be proven wrong.

_How about this one?_ Magnus had sent under the attachment and Alec shook his head with a fond smile as he set the picture as his new background. Chairman would just have to cope with only being on his screensaver.

_It’s just what I’ve been looking for._

 


End file.
